1636: Seas of Fortune
1636: Seas of Fortune is a book in the 1632 series, written by Iver P. Cooper and published on January 7, 2014. In the preface, Cooper describes the book as two sets of braided short stories. The first set, Stretching Out, covers the period from May 1632 to early 1637, and primarily deals with the establishment of a colony in South America. It is based on Cooper's "Stretching Out" serial, which began online in Grantville Gazette XI; all but the final story in that section had previously appeared, in slightly different forms, in the Gazette. The second set, Rising Sun, deals with Japan, its reaction to the Ring of Fire, and the initial settlement of Japanese Christians in California. It covers the period from February 1633 to the Fall of 1636. Stretching Out While the South American settlements in these stories are marginally in the Southern Hemisphere, references to seasons other than the local wet and dry seasons are to the Northern Hemisphere seasons. Stories 1: "Amazon Adventure": Originally appeared in Grantville Gazette XII. Covers late 1632 to Fall 1634. 2: "Second Starts": Originally appeared in Grantville Gazette XI. Covers May 1632 to July 1633. 3: "Maria's Mission: Originally appeared in Grantville Gazette XIV. Covers September 1633 to early 1634. 4: "Beyond the Line": Originally appeared in Grantville Gazette XVI. Covers April 1634 to late 1634. 5: "Riding The Tiger": Originally appeared in Grantville Gazette XVIII. Covers late 1634 to February-March 1635. 6: "King of the Jungle": Originally appeared in Grantville Gazette XXI. Covers February-March 1635 to August 1635. 7. "Tears of the Sun, Milk of the Moon: Covers Winter 1635 to early 1637. Rising Sun Chronology *February 1633 **The Yamaguchi family (seven-year-old Hiraku, his father Takuma, his mother Mizuki and his grandfather) from Nagasaki perform the efumi ritual. They are secret Christians (''Kirishitan'', in Japanese.) *August 1633 **Pieter van Santen, the chief Dutch factor in Japan, presents some up-time gifts to the Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, including books and maps from the future. Sakai Tadakatsu is charge with investigating the claims in these books and maps. *October 1633 **The veracity of up-time maps' information about copper and iron deposits in Japan is confirmed. Additional surveying parties are sent to look for gold and silver deposits. **Sumitomo Tomomochi found a great copper deposit in Shikoku. **Magome Anjin (AKA Joseph Adams, son of English sailor William Adams) translated some up-time text from English and told Sakai Tadakatsu about the Shimabara Rebellion, which had taken place in 1637. *November 1633 **The Shogun decided to send an embassy to Grantville. **Sumitomo Tomomochi is awarded the title of daishō and presented with the opportunity of being part of the embassy to Grantville. *December 1633 **Inoue Masashige and his spymaster plan a false flag operation, to be blamed on the Kirishitan. They are accidentally overheard by the ronin Kodama Katsuo, who tried to denounce them to the Edo magistrate of the south. After discovering that the magistrate was part of the plot, Katsuo fled to the house of his mistress, the Bikuni Hanako, who helped him send a message to Sakai Tadakatsu through one of her cousins that worked in the pleasure district of Edo. **The Yamaguchis travel to the Shimabara Peninsula to celebrate the birth of Christ with other secret Christians. *January 1634 **Thanks to Katsuo, the false-flag plot is discovered. At least one conspirator is executed. Inoue Masashige is exiled to Hachijo Island. **Sakai Tadakatsu talks to the shogun about the Shimabara Rebellion and proposes two courses of action: to take Manila from the Spanish (preventing them from sending more missionaries and bringing thousands of ronins back into service) and to send all the Kirishitan (estimated at 20,000 to 40,000) into exile to California. Abe Tadaaki is put in charge of the Kirishitan project and Sakai Tadakatsu is named Tairō **Katsuo is made a Tokugawa Gokenin and expands his relationship with Hanako. **The Edict of Exile is proclaimed. **The Yamaguchi family reveal themselves as Christians and accept the edict of exile. *February 1634 **Date Masamune is named Taishu (grand governor) of New Nippon. *Spring 1634 **The Chinese doctor Zhang tries his method of immunizing against smallpox on the Kirishitan. Yamaguchi Hiraku is one of his first patients. *May 1634 **Captain Abel Janszoon Tasman of the Dutch East India Company explains to Date Masamune the proposed sailing route of the First Fleet from Japan to OTL Monterey, California. **The Ieyasu Maru sails north to fifty degrees (the latitude of Vancouver Island) and then turns due east. Captain Yamada Haruno. First mate “Tenjiku” (“India”) Tokubei. **The First Fleet (composed of Japanese, Chinese, Dutch and captured Spanish and Portuguese ships) sets sail. *June 1634 Category:Volumes in the 1632 Series